Disasters take a toll on unborn babies – we need to support pregnant mums after Cyclone Gabrielle
The Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle have put the spotlight on how communities recover in the aftermath of widespread devastation. But future-proofing communities against the impact of these disasters needs to include measures to protect some of our most vulnerable people – pregnant women and their unborn babies.
What happens during pregnancy lays the . Exposure to a is no exception.
Years after the Christchurch earthquakes, behaviour and sleep difficulties in children who had experienced the devastation, including those who wern’t yet born on February 22, 2011. these anecdotal reports: children exposed at a younger age and in-utero to the earthquakes displayed greater behaviour problems.
I was part of a maternal and child wellbeing following the . My found toddlers whose mothers experienced greater hardship while pregnant due to the flooding tended to be more reactive and display emotional distress.
What’s more, these early behaviours were related to increased at preschool age. These children also displayed as toddlers and through preschool.
Research on in Australia and in North America shows similar findings.
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Babies in-utero at the time of in the US had a five-fold increased risk of anxiety disorders, as well as greater likelihood of depression and attention behavioural disorders, when compared with babies who were not exposed to the disaster.
The unseen cost of Cyclone Gabrielle
These findings should not be ignored. During Cyclone Gabrielle, many New Zealanders including pregnant women, faced hardship – namely property damage and loss, and financial difficulties. Some pregnant women were left in or . None expected to be hit by the disaster.
For the most part, the more hardship pregnant women face, the greater the immediate and post-traumatic symptoms they experience. The and may be particularly susceptible to pregnancy stress. It can also affect for .
Yet, even when a woman reports low levels of distress in the face of a disaster, exposure to hardship can . Changes to , , , and may “get under the skin” of the unborn child.
Support now and in the future
Now that the silt has settled after Cyclone Gabrielle, pregnant women and their unborn children must not be forgotten.
Pregnant women should be encouraged and supported to engage in . These can include the positive reframing of the situation, acceptance, humour and finding emotional support from others. This should then move to strategies focused on problem solving – such as actively planning for the future, taking action to clean up, and seeking help from government and non-governmental agencies.
Trying to find the from the situation can help lower a woman’s distress. But out deep thoughts and feelings about what has happened may not help and, at the very least, should be .
We should also mobilise existing infrastructure to help the pregnant women to better “weather the storm” of enduring hardship and distress in the months and years to come.
Support for midwives
In New Zealand as their lead maternity carer from pregnancy through the postnatal period. Receiving maternity care from the same midwifery team across the perinatal period benefits a mother’s and their in the face of a disaster by providing continued social support.
During Cyclone Gabrielle, midwives went to continue to provide support for women, no matter how remotely they lived. But we shouldn’t be relying on midwives putting themselves to help those in need.
Midwives need to be in identifying, supporting and referring at-risk women. We also simply .
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Pregnant women need to be and monitored for post-traumatic symptoms, anxiety and depression across the perinatal period. Those experiencing continued distress need access to appropriate mental health services.
Early childhood, a period of incredible brain maturation, also offers opportunities for improving child outcomes. Positive parent and sensitive, structured parenting behaviours have been shown to improve child , and .
A possible next step is the targeted delivery of that promote such behaviours through existing services including . for child mental health initiatives, like that provided following the earthquakes, is needed in areas hit by the cyclone.
With New Zealand to experience an in the next decade, it is critical we take stock, listen and act on this research – not just for those exposed to Cyclone Gabrielle, but for those who will inevitably be affected when the next disaster strikes.
